J. David Hawkins, PhD

J. David Hawkins, PhD

inducted in 2010Fellow

Dr. J. David Hawkins is the Endowed Professor of Prevention and founding director of the Social Development Research Group, School of Social Work, University of Washington, Seattle. His research focuses on understanding and preventing child and adolescent health and behavior problems.

He develops and tests prevention strategies which seek to reduce risk through the enhancement of strengths and protective factors in families, schools, and communities. He is principal investigator of the Community Youth Development Study, a randomized field experiment involving 24 communities across seven states testing the effectiveness of the Communities That Care prevention system developed by Hawkins and Richard F. Catalano.

Dr. Hawkins has authored numerous articles and several books as well as prevention programs for parents and families, including Guiding Good Choices, Parents Who Care, and Supporting School Success. His prevention work is guided by the social development model, his theory of human behavior.

He is a 2009 recipient of the Flynn Prize for Research, a past-President of the Society for Prevention Research, and has served in an advisory capacity to national and state-level agencies and organizations. He is committed to translating research into effective practice and policy to improve adolescent health and development.